Starting all over again: Need for a national narrative

President Muhammadu Buhari stated on July 14th, 2016, while receiving a Special Envoy of King Mohammed VI of Morocco, that Nigeria was starting all over again.  He said, “For us in Nigeria, it is like starting all over again. There was a time we had so much money and took things for granted. But with […]

President Muhammadu Buhari stated on July 14th, 2016, while receiving a Special Envoy of King Mohammed VI of Morocco, that Nigeria was starting all over again.  He said, “For us in Nigeria, it is like starting all over again. There was a time we had so much money and took things for granted. But with the fall in the international price of oil, we are now managing”. While the context of the President’s remark was on the state of the economy, it still begs the question whether that wasn’t what Nigerians were expecting? Indeed many Nigerians while casting their votes for Gen. Muhammadu Buhari did so hoping for a new vista for Nigeria. Now, since we are starting all over again, I hope the Buhari led administration can develop a national narrative that will be the driving force towards national rebirth.
In 2011, the Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars published a document titled: “A national strategic narrative” in a bid to present a much needed change in America’s national objective as it copes with growing 21st century challenges. The preface to this document was written by former Director of Policy Planning under the Obama administration, Professor Anne-Marie Slaughter. She stated therein: “Where is the United States going in the world? How can we get there? We need a story with a beginning, middle, and projected happy ending that will transcend our political divisions, orient us as a nation, and give us both a common direction and the confidence and commitment to get to our destination”. These are important questions that every responsible nation must ask itself from time to time.
The absence of a national narrative, a consolidation of the whole or part of the aspirations of most Nigerians will throw the country into a state of anomie where chaos and anarchy reign. We are today witnessing more communal violence and daring acts of belligerence across the nation. The new APC government, to ensure an enduring legacy, must develop a strong narrative that will capture the fundamental aspirations of all Nigerians. A narrative, in which all share a stake in what becomes of the future of the nation state. A narrative that will be an embodiment of the conscience and spirit of the Nigerian people.
Governance is and should always be a collective responsibility that is premised on a system that promotes self-regulation, mutation and innovation with a view to protecting the common good. Leaders should always view the common man’s needs through the lenses of their own insecurities and be spurred into greater action.
The Executive arm of government needs to perform its most basic function. It needs to learn and perfect the art of execution. The poor, abandoned and failed projects in Nigeria fundamentally reflect a cognate inadequacy of the executive arm of government in the art of execution. Little wonder that Nigeria recorded more completed projects during the military era.
Again, as the Executive struggles in the fight against corruption, they must first address the factors that encourage it, that is, inefficiency and redundancy in public service.
The Nigerian legislative arm on the other hand tends to give priority more to matters of political rather than national interest. While it schief responsibility is to make laws, unfortunately, it is heard best when personal interests are undermined.
Nigeria’s judiciary is responsible for delivery of justice, the subversion of which has become a norm in our society, a recipe for social cataclysm. The delivery of timely and efficient judicial services has long been acknowledged as a key indicator of a transparent and impartial judiciary. Consequently, serious introspection is needed in the Judiciary with a view to aligning its operations properly with this Administrations’ effort to stamp out corruption.
In the whole, a new narrative must envision compromise for the collective good, making tolerance the foundation for national peace and development. Similarly it must seek to inculcate individual responsibility as a stimulant for personal growth and national development. Complaining all day will not bring about any solution nor will it improve our circumstances. An attitudinal change is necessary in this narrative.
In other words, be you a lawyer, doctor, mechanic, shoe-shiner, whatever it is you’re doing, do it excellently.
In conclusion, a new narrative for Nigeria must eloquently articulate what Nigeria is to enable Nigerians understand the meaning of their reality as Nigerians. By this definition, hearts and minds can be directed on a celestial ascent to break the yoke of nepotism, greed and apathy that has over the years pulled down this great nation.
So what is Nigeria? Nigeria is not just a conglomeration of people and places brought together by accident of history. Nor is it just an ordinary amalgamation that occurred over a century ago. Nigeria should be an idea! An idea that explicates the transcendent brotherhood of all peoples. A conglomeration of the most diverse group of people on the African continent with a divine purpose to harp the universal brotherhood of man! This vision, this realization, a must for us all, that we may see the Nigeria of our dreams as we start all over again.
Jakada wrote this piece from Abuja and can be reached at [email protected]